NBA wrap: Raptors cruise to win over Pacers in Kyle Lowry's return

The Raptors didn’t have a hard time Sunday as they the Pacers 121-105 behind the efforts of an unlikely leading scorer.

Kyle Lowry made his return to Toronto’s lineup against Indiana and he put together a decent performance. He recorded 12 points, eight assists and three steals.

Norman Powell led all scorers, though, pouring in 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting off the bench for Toronto.

Bojan Bogdanovic led the way for Indiana with 21 points and nine rebounds.

Even without Kawhi Leonard, the Raptors were too much for the Pacers. Toronto snapped Indiana’s six-game winning streak, dropping them to 26-13. The Raptors improved to 30-12 and claimed the top spot in the Eastern Conference from the Bucks.

Studs of the Night

Tobias Harris recorded 28 points and grabbed nine rebounds on 10-of-21 shooting in a 106-96 Clippers’ victory over the Magic.

D’Angelo Russell tallied 28 points and made six 3-pointers as Brooklyn beat the Bulls 117-100.

Karl-Anthony Towns dropped 28 points and registered 18 rebounds to help the Timberwolves top the Lakers 108-86.

Duds of the Night

Kelly Olynyk scored nine points on 3-of-10 shooting and the Heat fell short to the Hawks 106-82.

Trevor Ariza scored four points on 1-of-9 shooting, but the Wizards still managed to beat the Thunder 116-98.

Highlights

Jamal Crawford elusively threw the ball between his own legs to get into the lane and make this floater in the Suns’ 119-113 loss to the Hornets.

Nuggets (26-11) at Rockets (22-16) 8 p.m. ET — Denver has been a pleasant surprise this season and will enter this matchup with the best record in the Western Conference. Houston has been one of the NBA’s hottest teams lately. While the Rockets lost to the Trail Blazers in their last game, they’ve been steadily climbing the standings.